How To Declutter Your Wardrobe

This week I had a major wardrobe clear out! It felt so good to declutter my wardrobe and organise all of my clothes and shoes – I got rid of my ‘never worn’ items, ill-fitting jeans and items that are just a fleeting trend and made way for a fresh, new wardrobe in which I promised myself I will maintain. So I thought I would pass on my wardrobe decluttering wisdom to you, take note…

If it’s cheap, get rid

If it’s a bit cheap, old and your wardrobe is cluttered, get rid! We are surrounded by fast fashion these days, whether it’s online or on the high street, and we can therefore buy clothing pretty much anywhere, on a whim. Use this burst of wardrobe organisation to re-evaluate the amount of clothing you buy verses the amount of clothing you actually wear. You’ll likely find you wear the same few pieces on rotation (I definitely do!) Use this knowledge to realign your fashion buying practises this year so you are creating more of a ‘capsule wardrobe’ rather than a cluttered messy one.

2. Keep the staple pieces

My biggest piece of advice is to stick to the basic pieces when decluttering your wardrobe and get rid of any seasonal ‘trend’ pieces that you no longer wear or want. Every wardrobe should be built on a foundation of basics. These basics differ from person to person so simply consider them the building blocks of each outfit you wear. Mine are definitely a great pair of tailored trousers, jeans and simple, chic and classic jumpers or tops that never go out of season. These are the pieces worth keeping, and also worth spending a bit more money on – they could be part of your wardrobe for many, many years.

3. Be ruthless

I try to be as strict as possible – if I haven’t worn it in the last two years, it’s out! This is a great rule to stick to. If you haven’t worn it lately, are you really likely to wear it again? Try not to get too attached to an item of clothing – I use to be a massive hoarder and hated the thought of throwing out clothes I have paid good money for in the hope I might need or want to wear it again. But the reality is, I never do need or want to wear it again, so I would advise chucking it out after the two year marker!

4. Don’t waste a ‘money-making’ opportunity

Let’s be clear, decluttering is not about chucking all your unwanted items in the bin; it’s about seeing if your unwanted items can go somewhere better or more useful. I tend to sell items that haven’t been worn a lot as well as items that still have the label on (I know, I am terrible) on an app called Depop. It is really easy to use and you get great sellers and buyers on there. The more worn out items I am getting rid of I will always give to charity.

My wardrobe revamp…

So, after practicing what I preach, I ended up with a very organised, colour co-ordinated wardrobe that I was much happier with. You may want to give the colour co-ordination thing a go (it makes you feel super organised and in control of your life haha!) As you can see below, I organised my clothing from light to dark, starting with white and cream coloured clothing, through to grey, warmer colours and then black. I also have an accessories section where I organised my bags, hats, belts, underwear and shoes. When my room was first being decorated, I insisted on creating a shoe closet as I am one of those girls who has far too many heels – shoes and bags are definitely an unhealthy obsession of mine! I also spent some time going through my heels, chucking out any I haven’t worn in a while and then neatly organising them so they are easily accessible and look rather pleasing on the eye.